


Undercover Belle

by DaniCarli



Series: ETNuary Challenge [25]
Category: Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: 2x02, Alex and Lauren are not together anymore but in this universe they still are, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety, Blood, Blood Drinking, ETNuary, Encouragement, Escape the Night Season 2, F/M, It's not her fault, Lauren deserved better, Light Angst, Love, Masquerade Ball, Riddles, Romantic Fluff, Survival, Vampires, Victorian era, What if Lauren agreed to do the vampire riddle?, boyfriend-girlfriend, motivation, supportive friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22398289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaniCarli/pseuds/DaniCarli
Summary: What if Lauren agreed to do the vampire riddle in 2x02?
Relationships: The Engineer | Lauren Riihimaki/The Novelist | Alex Wassabi
Series: ETNuary Challenge [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1588867
Comments: 9
Kudos: 12





	Undercover Belle

**Author's Note:**

> Day 25 of ETNuary: Lauren Riihimaki

_This is crazy!_ Lauren wants to scream. _First, we were attacked by vampires! Then, we find out that we have find eight gems to obtain a crown to survive, but people have to die to get each one! And now we have to go back into the ballroom full of those vampires to lure out the vampire king and kill him in order to get the first gem?_

This is not what the DIY YouTuber signed up for! She only came to this place to party with her friends and boyfriend, not fight to the death for her life!

Yet here she and the others are, hearing Alison, their guide ( _who is also a vampire by the way, can we really trust her?_ ) explain how to kill her father and get the first gem.

“Every full moon, my father gives a vampire the opportunity to dine with him alone,” the vampire princess tells the group. “If the vampire answers the riddle that he asks correctly, they get his honor. But if they answer incorrectly, the vampire is drained of all their blood.”

_Oh great!_ The Engineer groans. _So if we’re right, we get royal treatment and if we’re wrong, we die painfully from severe blood loss!_

The thought of having her blood drained nearly makes Lauren clam up with fear. Alison is basically telling the group that one of them has to sneak in and risk getting killed if the riddle is wrong. The blonde is in way over her head; they all are. She’s LaurDIY, arts & crafts extraordinaire and lifestyle YouTuber, not Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

“Being his daughter,” Alison calmly continues, “I have the privilege of knowing the answer. So who would like to go in?”

The room falls silent. Clearly, no one wants to take on this dangerous task and risk their necks for a riddle. Heck, a part of Lauren almost yells out “I can’t, that’s too much pressure!”

But she makes contact with her boyfriend, Alex. She can see the fear and uncertainty in his eyes about risking one of their own. It’s as if _he’s_ considering doing it.

_No!_ Lauren recalls how her heart dropped when the journal that they found earlier said that people had to be voted into final challenges, where the punishment for the loser is death. There are eight gems to recover and ten YouTubers present. That means in the end, only _two_ people are going to make it out of this nightmare. The thought of her dying, of _Alex_ dying, does not sit well at all for the Engineer. She can’t let that happen. Before she can stop herself, Lauren’s lace-gloved hand shoots into the air. “I’ll do it!”

The others stare at her in shock, not expecting sweet, lovable LaurDIY to accept such a mission. Alex’s face turns to panic as he grabs her hand.

“What? No Lauren, it’s too dangerous!” he pleads to her. Lauren understands that Alex is scared for her, especially after she was captured earlier by a vampire. He made a promise after she returned that he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her.

But while Lauren appreciates that her boyfriend wants to protect her, she also knows that she can’t rely on him all the time if she wants to survive. She needs to prove herself to the others so that way when it comes to voting, they won’t even _consider_ sending her to her death.

“Someone needs to do it,” Lauren explains to everyone, especially to Alex. “I’m a team player and I’ll do this for you guys.” 

She gestures to her yellow ballgown. “Besides, I’m already dressed for the occasion, so I’ll be able to blend in better than the rest of you.”

Joey continues to stare at her, as if still unsure whether to trust in her ability. “Lauren, are you sure you can do it?”

Every part of Lauren starts to feel the anxiety, the worst case scenario playing in her head. She wants to change her mind, to back out, to go “you know what, nevermind!” But she knows if she does, the others will view her as weak and they might turn on her. No, she needs to do this.

“Yes,” Lauren says, her voice an unconvincing squeak. With that confirmation, her fate is sealed; there’s no going back. The others nod in approval, some admired by her stepping up. Alex, however, is still unhappy, obviously worried about her putting herself in danger. All Lauren can do is give him a reassuring smile and pat his hand. 

_I got this...I think?_

Alison steps towards her, as if the other woman were a coach giving her instructions before a big game.

“The answer to the riddle will be _history_ ,” Alison tells the blonde. Lauren nods, still unsure if she's telling the truth. For all the blonde girl knows, the vampire could be sending her into a trap. But what other choice does the DIY creator have?

“We have one problem,” Alison also informs her. “We have to get the human scent off of you.”

_The human scent?_ Lauren is now starting to regret agreeing to this. _What does that mean?_

She finds out when she’s instructed to take two big gulps of blood from a dead vampire (who Lauren recognizes as the one that captured Liza at the beginning of the night) The sight of the gaping wound nearly makes Lauren nauseous, her mind demanding to back out right now. 

_Is this even sanitary?_ Lauren worries as she looks at the bloody puncture wounds on the dead vamp’s neck. 

“You got this, Lauren!” she hears Andrea cheer her on, followed by other encouragement from the rest of her friends. She feels Alex’s hand in hers, reassurance that he’s right there with her as moral support. With that, Lauren takes a deep breath and drinks the blood. It’s warm, smooth, and coppery, its awful taste almost making Lauren want to vomit. But she keeps going, much to the shock and awe of the others.

“Go, Lauren, go!” Tana shouts as if she were a cheerleader rooting the other blonde girl on.

“I’m so turned on right now!” Gabbie comments.

“Well damn, Alex!” Lauren hears Liza chuckle to the Novelist. “I can only imagine what goes on between you two in the bedroom!”

Lauren almost chokes on the blood, her cheeks red with embarrassment, but laughs along with the others at the typical remark from one Liza Koshy. Once composed, she goes in for the last gulp.

“Suck it, girl!” Destorm encourages her, followed by Jesse’s “that is a nasty hickey you gave him.”

Swallowing the last of the blood, Lauren leans back, very ashamed of herself.

“That was disgusting!” Lauren complains as she’s helped to her feet. That was without a doubt the most traumatizing thing she’s ever experienced. If she gets a disease from this, she will sue everyone here!

Nevertheless, her friends applaud her, Destorm even calling her “a G!” While grossed out by what she just did, it makes Lauren feel good knowing that her friends are recognizing her as a team player and are proud of her.

Once her face is clean of dead vampire blood, Alison helps her put on a masquerade mask so that the vampires won’t recognize her. Lauren’s heart is doing somersaults, realizing that drinking the blood was the easy part. She’s now about to experience the hard part. That she must do by herself.

As they group make their way to the ballroom, Joey pulls Lauren aside, a proud smile on his face. “Lauren, that was a big moment back there. That just said a lot about you!”

Hearing her friend say that makes Lauren feel a lot better, even boosting her confidence. She has proven herself in the eyes of the others. Feeling that validation, she starts to believe that she can do this.

She will go into that ballroom, answer the riddle, lure Dorian out, kill him and get the gem. Even as her anxiety squeezes her from within her stomach, the Engineer refuses to let her friends down.

As soon as they arrive at the ballroom’s entrance, the group prepares to do their jobs. While Lauren tries to lure Dorian out, Joey, Gabbie, and Liza will set up the salt circle. Once Dorian is inside the circle, Alex will shine the sunstone on the king, weakening him enough for Joey to stab him and take the gem. It’s a solid plan that should go smoothly.

“It’s time,”Alison informs Lauren. The nerves heighten and it’s taking every fiber of Lauren’s being to stay calm and do her job.

“You got this,” Joey tells her, reassurance in his voice. “You smell like a vampire, you look great.”

“Walk confidently,” Alison advises her, “and pray nothing goes wrong.”

_Yeah, duly noted, Alison!_ Lauren sighs with irritation, swallowing a possible panic attack that tries to invade her being. As she makes her way to the ballroom’s doors, Lauren glances up at the balcony one last time where the rest of the group are and spots Alex with the sunstone in his hands. Her boyfriend lovingly stares back at her, mouthing that she’s got this. Alex may still be worried, but at least he believes in her now. This helps calm her down, her anxiety dialing back.

_I got this!_ Lauren pumps herself up. _I got this! They’re all counting on me! I'm not useless, I won't let them down!_

The Engineer braces herself as she opens the doors to the bloodsucking lair. _This is it! No backing out now!_

Taking a deep breath, Lauren makes her way inside, ready to retrieve Dorian, kill that monster, get the gem, and find a way to get her and Alex home. She can do it, she _will_ do it!

**Author's Note:**

> I know Alex and Lauren are no longer together, but in Season 2, they were still very much together so we are sticking with that. It's sad everyone turned against Lauren because she was scared, and it's unfair as well. At least she's at peace now.


End file.
